Car-coupling.



S. WINTER.

GAR GOUPLING.

APPLICATION FILED PEB.12, 1908. RENBWED AUG. 16, 1909. 95 l ,896.

Patented Mar. 15, 191i).

' zsHEETs--SHEET 1.

llldllllED STATE@ PATENT @FlilllltlE STEPHEN XVINTER, OF BRIDGEPOET,CONNECTICUT.

CAR-COUPLING.

Specification of Letters atent.

Application led February 12, 1908, Serial o. 415,532. Renewed August 18,1909. Serial No. 513,190.

To all whom t may concern:

lle it known that l, STEPHEN VIN'rnn, a subject of the Emperor ofAustria-Hungary, residing at Bridgeport, county of Fairfield, State ofConnecticut, have invented a new and useful Car-Coupling, of which thefollowing is a specification.

'lhis invention relates to a new and useful car coupling, the essentialfeatures of which are that the hooks are swung to the engaging positionby the heads, are locked in t-he engaging position and when released areautomatically swung to the disengaging position.

lith these and other objects in view the invention consists in certainconstructions and in certain parts, improvements and combinations whichwill be hereinafter described and then specifically pointed out in theclaims hereunto appended.

ln the accompanying drawings forming a part of this speciiication, inwhich like characters of reference indicate the several parts: Figure 1is a view partly in side elevation and partly in vertical sectionshowing two couplings with the swinging hooks in the engaging position;Fig. 2 an inverted plan view corresponding therewith; Fig. 3 an enlargedview of the locking lever detaclied; Fig. l a front elevation on thesame scale of the operating block detached; Fig. 5 a plan view on anenlarged scale of a single coupling showing the swinging hooks in thedisengaging position, the casing appearing in horizontal section; F 6 aview corresponding with Fig. 5 partly in side elevation and partly invertical section. F ig. 7 a front elevation corresponding with Figs. 5and G, the sliding head being in section on the line 7 -7 in Fig. 6; andFig. 8 is a perspective of the engaging dog detached.

10 denotes an upper swinging hook and 11 a lower swinging hook. rThesehooks are provided with engaging portions indicated by 12 which faceinward toward each other and with Shanks 13 having longitudinal slots1/1. The hooks are pivoted respectively to the upper and lower sides ofa carrier 15 which may move longitudinally in a casing 16. The hooks areshown as pivoted at approximately their mid-length by headed pins 17which are retained in place by upper and lower cap plates 1S secured tothe carrier. The carrier is provided on opposite sides with ribs 19which lie in grooves 20 in the casing.` Each rib is pro vided with arecess 21 and lying in each recess is a rib or block 22 formed upon orsecured to the casing. The engagement of the ends of ribs 19 with ribsor blocks 22 limits the reciprocation of the carrier as will be morefully explained. The carrier is provided with a longitudinal opening 23closed on the top and sides but partly open at the bottom. Lying withinthis opening is a longitudinally movable operating block 24. Theoperating block is provided at its forward end with a recess 25, at itsrear end with a shank QG having a longitudinal opening 27 through it andon its upper and lower sides with pins 28 which extend through slots 29in the upper and lower plates of the carrier and engage the longitudinalslots 11i in the Shanks 13 of the swinging hooks.

30 denotes the sliding head which lies hetween the swinging hooks, thatis above the lower hooks and below the upper hooks, as clearly shown inFig. 6. The head extends into longitudinal opening 23 in the carrier andinto recess 25 in the forward end of the operating block and is providedwith a shank 31 extending through opening Q7 in shank 2G of theoperatingblock.

32 denotes a recess in the head at the forward end of which an engagingdog 33 is pivoted as at 39. This dog is provided with a tail piece 34lextending forward of the pivotal point and with an abutment 35 which isadapted to engage the forward end of the locking block, as clearly shownin Fig. 6. Dog 33 is retained in the engaging position by'means of aball or plunger 36 which is projected by means of a spring 37 lying in asocket 3S in the carrier. in Fig.. 6 the ball or plunger is shown asretaining the dog in the engaging position. When the head is movedbackward in the act of coupling, as will be more fully explained, thedog will engage the forward end of the operating block, will carry saidblock backward and7 through the engagement of pins 28 on the operatingblock with slots 14 in the Shanks of the hooks, will swing the latter tothe engaging position. As the head moves backward, ball or plunger 3Gwill travel along the tail piece of the dog and will tilt the latterdownward out of engagement with the forward end of the operating block.1When the buffer is again moved forward, as will be more fullyexplained, ball or plunger 36 will travel in the Patentedltllar. 15,1910..

opposite direction along the tail piece of the engaging dog and willraise the latter to the engaging position again as in Fig. G.

rlhe operating block is locked in the retracted position, that is in theengaging position of the hooks, as in Figs. l and 2, by means of alocking lever 40 which is fulcrumed in the top of the carrier and isprovided with an oblique opening 4l through which the shank of theoperating block passes, and which, of course, prevents the locking leverfrom becoming separated from the carrier at its fulcrum 47 the frontlower edge and the rear upper edge of said opening, indicatedrespectively by 42 and 43, forming points of contact which engagesurface 44 on the shank of the operating block to retain the latter inposition to hold the hooks in the engaging position. l have shown thetop of the carrier as provided with a hardened bearing block 45 having aslot 4G to receive the rounded fulcrum 47 of the locking lever (see Fig.G). rlhe locking lever is retained in the locking position by means of aball or plunger 48 which is projected by means of a spring 49 (see Fig.l) socketed in a cross piece 50 secured to the under side of thecarrier.

rl`he locking block is thrown to its forward position when released,thatl is to the disengaging position of the hooks, by means of a spring51 bearing against the rear end of the shank of said block and against ashoulder 52 on the carrier. The rear end of the shank 3l of the head isshown as reduced as at 53 and passes through a hole 54 in the rear endof the carrier. A spring 55 lying in a socket 56 in the rear end of thecarrier bears against. the base of the socket and against a shoulder 57on the shank of the head and acts to return the head to its :torwardposition as soon as cars are uncoupled. A pin 58 at the end of thecoupler shank of the hook engages the rear end of the carrier and limitsthe movement of the head when moved forward by spring 55.

At the rear end of the casing is a recess 59 in which is a strong spring(30 which bears against the base of the recess and against a nut 61 atthe rear end of the carrier and serves as a buffer spring to take up theshock of the first pull upon a heavy train. The entire pull in hauling acar being upon the carrier, it will be obvious that this spring takes upthe first shock of the pull and there will be no dead pull until theentire resistance of this spring is overcome and the ends of ribs 19engage ribs or blocks 22 on the casing.

The releasing of the operating block, which permits the hooks to beautomatically swung to the disengaging position, is eifected by means ofa releasing lever G2 shown as pivoted to a bracket 63. The short arm oflever 62 is adapted to engage locking lever 40 to disengage it from theshank of the operating block, lever 62 being retained at its normalposition by means of a spring 64, one end of which is connected to theinner end of the lever and the other to any Fixed portion of thestructure. 65 denotes a slide bar having a head 63 which is adapted toengage the head of the slide bar of a corresponding coupling. The slidebar moves in guides ('57 and is connected to the releasing lever bymeans of a link 68. The open ation of uncoupling may be performed fromeither side of a train, as the releasing lever upon one car will extendin one direction and the releasing lever upon the other car in theopposite direction. Vhen either releasing lever is operated, the head 6Gof the slide bar will engage the head 66 of the slide bar of the othercoupling, the short arm of the operated releasing lever will operate thecorresponding locking lever 40 and the slide bar of the other couplingwill operate the other locking lever, the effect of which is todisengage edges 42 and 43 upon the locking levers from engaging surfaces44 on the shanks of the operating blocks which permits the springs 5l tothrow the operating blocks forward and through the engagement of pins 23with slots 14 in the shanks of the couplers to swing the hooks of bothcouplings to the disengaging position as in Fig. 5.

T he operation of the coupling as a whole is as follows: ln thedisengaging position, as in Figs. 5 and 6, the heads 30 are held attheir forward position by springs 55, the operating blocks are held attheir forward position by springs 5l, and the engaging dog is held atthe raised position by spring actuated ball or plunger 3G. `W hen twocars are run together, the heads engage and are both moved backwardagainst the power of springs iibutments on the dogs engage the forwardends of the operating blocks and move the latter backward, the effect ofwhich is through the engagement of pins 2S with the slots in the shanksof the hooks, to swing the latter to the engaging position as in Figs. land 2. As the heads move backward, balls or plungers 36 will travelalong the tail pieces of the engaging dogs and tilt the latter downwardfrom the engaging position as in Fig. 6 to a position in which. theabutmentsv 35 will be below the forward ends of the operating blocks. ltwill be noted that each coupling comprises oppositely facing upper andlower swinging hooks so that there is a double connection between eachpair of cars. The first pull when a train is started is taken up bybuffer springs (l0. and there is a yielding pull upon the train untilthe forward ends of ribs 19 upon the carriers engage ribs or blocks 22on the casings. Disengagement of the hooks and the uncoupling of a pairof ears except through lOO Vthe operation ofa releasing lever isrendered.

impossible through they engagement of the locking levers with engagingSurfaces 4:4 on

`the Shanks of the operating blocks. When the ope ating blocks .aremoved backward,

.as already explained, from the position and prevent backward movementof the o ieratino` blocks. The locking levers moreover are retained inthe locking position by the spring actuated balls or plungers `t8 whichcan only be retracted by the operation of one of the releasing levers.To uncouplc a pair of cars,it is simply necessary to oper- .ate thereleasing lever upon either car, the 4operation of either lever, asalready eX- plained, through the engagement of the slide bars lacting tooperate the other lever, and

through intermediate connectionsto release `the operating blocks andYpermit springs 5l to throw said operating blocks forward,ithe effect ofwhich is, through the engagement. pins 2S with the slots in the Shanksof the hooks, to swing thehooks of both cars to the disengagingposition, as in Figs. 5` and G. Vihen the heads are'thrown forward againsprings 55, after separation of a pair of coupled cars, spring-actuatedballs or pluiigers 36 .will travel along the'tail pieces of the engagingdogs and will raise said dogs to the engaging position again as in Fig.6, ready for another' coupling operation, as already described.

Having thus described my invention, I claini:-

l. In a vcar lcoupling, the combination with a Swinging hook and asliding head, of means for positively swinging the hook to and fromengaging position when the head is moved backwardand forward,the saidsliding head being in position to abut against a Similar head carried bya mating coupling member on an adjoining car.

2. ln a car coupling, the combination with upper and lower swinginghooks and a Sliding head lying between said hooks, of means forpositively swinging the hooks to and from engaging position when thehead is moved backward and forward, the said lsliding head being inposition to abut against a similar head carried by a mating couplingmember on an adjoining car.

3. In a car coupling, the combination with a swinging' hook having anengaging portion and a shank, of an operating block engaging the shank,means for moving the operating block forward to swing the hook to thedisengaging position, a head, and a Spring-controlled dog carriedthereby which engagesthe operating block intheforward position, so thatwhen the head is moved backward the operating block will also bemovedbackward and will swing the nook 1 to the engaging position.

t. In a cai-coupling, the combination with upper and lower' swinginghooks having Shanks, and a Sliding head carrying an engaging dog, of anoperating block engaging `the shaiiks of the hooks, and adapted to beengagedby the dog, and means for moving the operating block forwardtoswing the hooks to the diseiigaging position, the dog f engaging` theoperating block when the head is moved backward and swinging the hooksto the engaging position.

5. In a car coupling, the combination with upper and lower' Swinging'hooks having Slotted Shanks and an operating block having pins engagingsaid slots, of means for moving the operating block forward Ato swingthe hooks to the disengagingposition, a sliding-head and aspring-controlled dog carried thereby which engages the operating blockto move said block backward and swing the hooks to the engagingposition.

6. VIn acar coupling, the combination with upper and lower swinginghooks having slotted Shanks and a sliding operating block having pinsengaging Said slots, of a head lying intermediate' the hooks,aniengaging dog pivoted to the head, means for retaining said dog inposition to engage the operating block when the latter is at theforf'wardposition, a` spring for retaining the operating block and aSpring forretaining the hook in the forward position.

7. ln a car coupling, the combination with upper and lowei Swinginghooks having slotted Shanks and a sliding operating block A having pinsengaging said slots, of a head lying intermediate thehooks, an engagingdog pivoted to the head and provided with a tail piece extending forwardof the pivotal point, and a Spring-controlled plunger engaging Said dogto hold the latter in position to engage the operating block when thelatter is in the forward position and engaging the tail piece to tiltthe dog out of the engaging position when the head is moved backward.

8. In a car coupling, the combination with a Swinging hook and a slidingoperating block engaging said hook, of a sliding head, a dog pivoted tothe head and engaging the operating block', a spring for moving theoperating block forward to swing the hook to the diseiigaging position,backward movement of the head and dog carrying the operating blockbackward and swinging the hook to the engaging position, and means forlocking the operating block when the hook is in the engaging position.

9. In a car coupling', the combination with a swinging coupler and asliding operating block engaging said hook, of a sliding head, means onsaid buffer for engaging the operating block, means for moving saidblock forward to swing the hook to the disengaging position, backwardmovement of the head causing said block to swing the hook to theengagingl position, and means for locking the operating block.

l0. In a car coupling, the combination with a swinging hook, a slidingoperating block engaging said hook and a sliding head, of means on saidhead for engaging the operating block to move the hook to the engagingposition, means for locking the operating block and a spring for movingthe operating block forward when released.

1l. In a car coupling, the combination with a swinging hook, a slidingoperating block engaging said hook and a sliding head, of means on saidhead for engaging the operating block to move the hook to the engagingposition, a locking lever having an oblique opening through which theshank of the operating block passes, the edges of said opening engagingsaid shank to lock the operating block, means for retaining the lockinglever in the locking position and means for operating said lever torelease the operating block.

12. In a car coupling, the combination with a swinging hook, a slidingoperating block engaging said hook and a sliding head, of means on saidhead for engaging the operating block to move the hook to the engagingposition, a locking lever having an oblique opening through which theshank of the operating block passes, the edges of said opening engagingsaid shank to lock the operating block, a spring actuated plunger forretaining' the locking lever in the locking position and a releasinglever for actuating the locking lever to release the operating block.

13. In a car coupling, the combination with a swinging hook, a slidingoperating block engaging said hook and a sliding head,

of means on said head for engaging the operating block to move the hookto the engaging position, a locking lever having an oblique openingthrough which the shank of the operating block passes, the edges of saidopening engaging said shank to lock the operating block, a springactuated plunger for retaining the locking lever in the lockingposition, a releasing lever for actuating the locking lever to releasethe operating block and a spring for moving the operating block forwardwhen released to swing the hook to the disengaging position.

14. In a car coupling, the combination with upper and lower swinginghooks, a sliding operating block whereby said hooks are operated, asliding head and means on said head for engaging the operating block tomove it backward, of a locking lever for locking the operating block, areleasing lever for actuating the locking lever and a spring for movingthe operating block forward when released.

l5. In a car coupling, the combination with a swinging hook and anoperating block by which said hook is operated, of a sliding head bywhich the operating block is moved backward, means for locking theoperating block and a spring for moving said block forward whenreleased.

1G. In a car coupling, the combination with a swinging hook and anoperating block by which the hook is operated, of a sliding buffer, aSpring-actuated dog carried by the head and engaging the operatingblock, a lever for locking the operating block, a spring for moving saidblock forward when released and a releasing lever for actuating thelocking lever.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

STEPHEN WINTER.

Witnesses A. M. Woosrnn, S. W. ATHERTON.

